FOIA Requests with the US Forest Service

In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and USDA regulations at 7 CFR, any person can request accessto USDA Forest Service (FS) records. The FOIA requires the FS to disclose records unless the information is exempt from mandatory disclosure under the FOIA (e.g., classified national security, business proprietary, personal privacy, investigative).

Your request must be in writing (view a sample FOIA request letter). Indicate that you are making a request under the FOIA, and address the request to the Region or Station that is responsible for the information you are requesting.

Contact Information for Mt. Hood National Forest FOIA

The Mt. Hood National Forest FOIA coordinator is currently Chris Bentley. You may contact him at 503-668-1776 or cbentley@fs.fed.us if you have any questions.

Additional InformationIdentify the records you want as accurately as possible, supply all details that would be helpful for locating the information (subject matter, date, place where the record was created, the person or office that created it, the present custodian of the record, etc.) FOIA does not require that new records be created in response to a request.

You should also provide your phone number and mailing address so that FS employees may contact you if needed.

FOIA Fees
Agencies are authorized by law to recover the direct costs of providing information to a FOIA requester. A requester may be required to pay fees for searching, reviewing, and copying records. You will be notified in advance if fees will exceed $25.

Fee Categories
For fee purposes, the FOIA requires that requesters be placed in one of the following four categories: (1) commercial use requesters; (2) news media, (3) educational institution, noncommercial scientific institution, and (4) all others. Commercial use requesters are charged the full direct cost of search, review and duplication, associated with processing their requests. Scientific, educational, and news media requesters are charged the cost of duplication alone, except that the first 100 pages are provided free of charge. All other requesters are charged the direct costs of search and duplication, except that the first 2 hours of search and the first 100 pages of duplications are free of charge. No review charges are assessed for requesters in this last category. Specify the fee category in which you feel your request falls. State the maximum amount of fees that you are willing to pay, or include a request for a fee waiver.

Fee WaiversThe FOIA permits agencies to waive fees if disclosure of the records is in the public interest because it: (a) is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government (Does the record concern the operations or activities of the government? Is disclosure likely to contribute to the public understanding of these operations and activities? Will that contribution besignificant?); and (b) is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester.

Privacy Act:
Under the Privacy Act (PA), a person may seek access to records that are retrieved by that person's name or other personal identifier, such as social security number or employee identification number. Such records will be made available unless they fall within the exemptions of the PA and the FOIA.

Detailed information concerning USDA policies and procedures for obtaining access to information under the FOIA and the PA is available in 7 CFR Part 1, Subpart A.